Let's Live to Fight Another Day
by Liliumscribe
Summary: The 4th Prince recovering from drinking poisoned tea visits the woman utmost in his mind. Life and death stakes loom large and her life hangs in a balance. A short piece fleshing out the prison dialogue between So and Su in Ep. 11. One of my favourite scenes in the entire drama.


Let's Live to Fight Another Day

His gait was heavy, his footsteps uneven at times but much more steady.

It was touch and go there for a while but he was alive… and every step he took was proof of it. His strength, vitality was returning.

Unlikely as it sounded he'd never seen the inside of the prison before hence, the thought that she was all alone, locked up like a broken, wounded animal enraged him. An unfamiliar feeling of claustrophobia and dread enveloped him.

In what kind of state would he find her?

Against all kinds of medical advice and common sense, he had dragged himself out of bed with inhuman strength… strength that only came with the urgency of life and death. He stumbled on his first steps and then staggered out the door with only one thought playing and replaying like an obsessive musical strain that has taken hold of the mind.

 _I cannot be here. I am needed elsewhere. Wherever it is that she is, that is where I need to be._

Despite the odds, recovery had begun inhumanly quickly so he was looking noticeably better… the antidote administered in nick of time was well and truly taking effect. A pinkish hue was slowly replacing the grim pallor that had covered his cheeks. 3 cups of poisoned tea… would ordinarily have struck a grown man down instantly but years of disciplined training with the Great General gave him a fighting chance.

Now that his own survival was assured, the uncertainty of hers was paramount in his mind. The question of whether she would survive the ordeal was a matter of utmost urgency. There were hidden forces at work, which would leave no stone unturned to protect the interests of the highest in the land and leave no trace of their own handiwork. Unknown to him, these forces were much closer to home than he had imagined. In his desperation he had forgotten not to trust.

Grimly he surveyed his surroundings as he carefully approached each cell peering through the dim gaps formed by the wooden enclosures. The stench of death was immediately apparently when it wafted through to his nostrils but even he who was no stranger to the sight and smells of death, shuddered at the thought of her caged in such bleak, inhospitable surroundings.

Nothing had prepared him for the crumpled figure that lay in the hay. It took all he had to hold back his gasp and his desire to hack down that cage to reach her. Her petite figure had been crushed at the behest of His Majesty's most adept interrogators and the result was a bloody mess. Limbs, extremities and a beautiful face that had seen much better days were now covered in streaks of blood.

 _Su… what have they done to you?_

Writhing in pain and groaning breathlessly, it was a far cry from what she had been. To see her a mere shell of her usual vivacious self was no doubt troubling to his soul but the fact that he was powerless to do anything to save her was his greatest shame.

A prince of the land who had lived the life of a hostage in a foreign land was equally subject to the whims of the throne. While his brothers were pampered, he had been whisked off to a people who did not care much for him either. But not being able to do anything for the woman he loved more than anything was a prospect he resented with every fibre of his being. If he had thought it would've made the slightest difference, he would have surrendered his princely status there and then for the frail figure of a woman that he had already given his life for once.

He stared helplessly some moments at the pathetic spectacle. He let his fingers slide through the bars as he stooped to watch her stir in semi-consciousness. Words failed him. On such an occasion what could he say that did not sound trite or banal? He was not one for platitudes. He would waste no time on words that brought no comfort. They were lies couched in honey and sugar.

She blinked and blinked again to catch a glimpse of the blurry figure in her line of sight. She must have sensed a presence, however, and moved to her head up to focus more clearly.

Realizing whom it was, she looked at him visibly relieved. Her eyes lit up with an unmistakable heartfelt gladness.

"I knew it… I was sure you wouldn't die."

The crack in her feeble voice undid him.

 _The idiot. She's rotting in prison and all she thinks about now is how I am. How can I face her when I have no idea how I'm to get her out of here?_

What else could a man in his place do? Cold comfort would be meaningless. His bravado kicked in.

"Naturally. There was no chance of that with such a miniscule amount," was the grim retort.

And then question came. The question he hoped would never come. The question he had hoped to evade.

"Even knowing there was poison… Was it because I, who made the tea, would be suspected that you still drank it?"

He had never wanted her to know… for anyone to know… that he had played the hero. It was a role he was ill suited for. That was never what his good doing was about. Even if she never loved him, he would do it again, and again, and again.

Because he was someone who now knew something of love.

Keeping her alive was all that mattered. A flippant reply masked all that he felt for her and the fatal reality that she was faced with.

"What nonsense! To drink poison just for a woman… What kind of good-for-nothing man do you think I am?" He remarked with self-deprecation and good humour for effect.

 _But I am a good-for-nothing man. After all I went to the trouble of doing, you still stayed behind and yourself caught because of me._

 _Hae Su, sometimes you care too much._

She turned to look at him despairingly. Clearly she saw right through his act. Not that it was all that much of an act.

"Why did you do this? Being so incorrigibly stubborn… Did you think that would change my mind?"

 _What am I, to put your life on the line for me?_

 _If you keep this up, Your Highness, it will get tougher for me to break away._

"Don't try to escape or anything. After all, you're an expert in causing people trouble! Since neither of us died and we survived, we'll soon meet each other outside."

 _I'll make sure of it even if it kills me again._

"Seriously… I don't know what to do with you." She stared at him with despairing eyes.

"Look who's talking!"

"Listen to the physician, and get treated properly. You can't wander around like this. Here… it's fine for you not come again… Please?" She pleaded.

"Such a nag." _Idiot. As if I would leave you to your own devices._

 _If you don't want me to care about you and look at you, you're doing a terrible job of discouraging me._

The 4th prince fell silent when he sensed that was nothing left to say that would make things right. What more could be said? He could offer her nothing more, empty promises notwithstanding. It was not however in his nature to offer hollow promises. She was in pain and all she was concerned about was his well-being. He looked away ashamed yet again that he could do no more. He quickly rose from where he had been sitting, taking quick steps away from her cell, lest she could see the tears welling up in his eyes.

He turned grimacing and walked away from the scene of death and pain with a steel in his step and in his heart.

 _There must be a way to get her out of this place. I must get her out of here even if it means breaking her out of here._


End file.
